Gas prices still rising about a penny a day

Southern California gas prices rose by a little more than a penny a day for the second consecutive week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The state average is $3.825 a gallon for regular as of Thursday, 8.5 cents more than last week.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego is $3.891, which is 7.4 cents above last week, 28.5 cents higher than last month, and 40 cents lower than last year.

In the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, the average price is $3.896 per gallon, which is 8.6 cents more than last week, 29 cents higher than last month, and 43 cents lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.900, up 9.1 cents from last week, 28 cents higher than a month ago, and 43 cents less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $3.875, up 7.3 cents from last week, 28 cents more than last month, and 41 cents less than last year.

"Industry experts point to civil unrest in Venezuela and the South Sudan as reasons for the increase in oil prices in recent days, which does impact gasoline prices," said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. "The only silver lining is that gas prices haven't increased as quickly or as much as 2013 or 2012 at this time of the year. We're still about 40 cents per gallon lower than a year ago."